My motivation is rising. After a week with not one, but two snow "events" of measurable snow, just about everyone around here is ready for it to be done. If you live anywhere from CT (or other areas, I'm sure) on north, you've had it. I've had at least 15"+ of snow in my front yard since the middle of January. Right now, the snow piles at the head of my driveway are about a foot taller than I am. I am not a strong man, but I literally cannot throw the snow anywhere with a shovel...there just isn't anywhere left for it to go.
However, I was able to make some progress on random stuff over the week and intend to devote most of the day tomorrow to the car. I want to get the rest of the black car's suspension parts stripped down, trash what needs to be, and store the rest. Then, I will pick a side of the red car's front and rebuild it. I have some more parts (shhhh) coming from TRF on Monday that, combined with previous orders, should enable me to totally rebuild the front end from the springs to the shocks to the bushings. I don't think I have everything that I will end up needing for the steering, but maybe.
I tried to strip down the Mk1 manifold that I have. Got most of it apart excepting one bolt that broke off in the manifold. It's been soaking for a few days in a WD-40/3-in-1 oil mixture. I'll apply some heat and then try, gently, to remove it. If that doesn't work, I'll look at spot-welding a new bolt head on it...my first welding experience!
Hopefully by lunchtime I'll have all of the suspension parts stripped, the good stuff saved and the bad stuff trashed and then move on to the red car's stuff. I'm trying to change my plan of a total frame-off restoration to a modified one.
Hard to explain, maybe, but the red tub is essentially worthless compared to the black one. I want to swap them. However, I have no room, garage or driveway wise, to really pull this off that well. So, my plan it to maintain the red car mobile as long as possible while rebuilding as much as possible on it a side or a piece at at time. I will take the black tub and get it "good enough". Then, take a few weeks to accomplish the swap because some of the red body parts will need to be transferred (a.k.a., welded) to the black one (bonnet, firewall areas to name a few).
If all of that works out, I'll get the black tub on the red frame, save-trash-give away the parts of the red tub that deserve it, and then have a drive-able car for the late summer/fall. Yeah, wish me luck.
However, I was able to make some progress on random stuff over the week and intend to devote most of the day tomorrow to the car. I want to get the rest of the black car's suspension parts stripped down, trash what needs to be, and store the rest. Then, I will pick a side of the red car's front and rebuild it. I have some more parts (shhhh) coming from TRF on Monday that, combined with previous orders, should enable me to totally rebuild the front end from the springs to the shocks to the bushings. I don't think I have everything that I will end up needing for the steering, but maybe.
I tried to strip down the Mk1 manifold that I have. Got most of it apart excepting one bolt that broke off in the manifold. It's been soaking for a few days in a WD-40/3-in-1 oil mixture. I'll apply some heat and then try, gently, to remove it. If that doesn't work, I'll look at spot-welding a new bolt head on it...my first welding experience!
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| Original Mk1 Manifold and expansion tank |
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| Post-strip...only one bolt failed to give up the ghost. |
Hard to explain, maybe, but the red tub is essentially worthless compared to the black one. I want to swap them. However, I have no room, garage or driveway wise, to really pull this off that well. So, my plan it to maintain the red car mobile as long as possible while rebuilding as much as possible on it a side or a piece at at time. I will take the black tub and get it "good enough". Then, take a few weeks to accomplish the swap because some of the red body parts will need to be transferred (a.k.a., welded) to the black one (bonnet, firewall areas to name a few).
If all of that works out, I'll get the black tub on the red frame, save-trash-give away the parts of the red tub that deserve it, and then have a drive-able car for the late summer/fall. Yeah, wish me luck.
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